Hitherto, a dried drug contained in a drug vessel such as a vial has been dissolved into a solvent such as distilled water, physiological saline solution, or glucose solution for drip infusion at a medical organization such as a hospital.
For simple and convenient use in such a case, there has been proposed a fluid vessel in which a vial containing a dried drug is connected in series to a solvent vessel containing a solvent, whereby the two vessels are brought into communication in a sterile manner at the time of using.
For example, a fluid vessel 410 disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. Hei 2(1990 )-1277 is constructed in such a manner that, as shown in FIG. 35, a hollow puncture needle 417 having a hub in the middle and having knife-edges at both ends is interposed between a drug vessel 412 and a solvent vessel 411 containing a solvent, and the puncture needle 417 first pierces the drug vessel 412 and then pierces the solvent vessel 411, whereby the communication between the drug vessel 412 and the solvent vessel 411 can be secured and facilitated and the mixing of the drug and the solvent after the start of communication can be carried out in a short time and in a sterile manner.
The drug vessel 412 is usually sealed with a rubber plug capable of being pierced with the puncture needle 417 and having a self-sealing property. The drug vessel 412 is usually a vial made of glass which is a generally distributed form for dried drugs. The rubber plug is tightly surrounded by a covering member 413 made of aluminum or the like and is fixed onto the mouth portion of the vessel.
Also, there has been proposed a flexible duplex vessel as shown in FIG. 36, in which a plurality of chambers for storing a liquid agent, a powder agent or a solid agent are partitioned with partition means capable of communication (See Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. Hei 4 (1992)-364850). This vessel 510 is composed of a plurality of chambers made of flexible sheet, which include a drug solution storing chamber 501, a storing chamber 506 covered with an outer wall 502 and storing a deoxidant 504 and a desiccant 505, and a drug storing chamber 503 covered with an inner wall 508 and storing a drug. These chambers are connected via a weak sealing section 507. The vessel is constructed in such a manner that, at the time of use, the weak sealing section 507 can be easily separated by applying an outer pressure to the drug solution storing chamber 501. This facilitates the communication between the drug solution storing chamber 501 and the drug storing chamber 503. This also facilitates the disposing process of the vessels.
The former fluid vessel 410 has a high applicability and excellent operability because the vessel-uses and incorporates a vial. However, since the vial is made of glass and aluminum, it is difficult to remove and classify the components in disposing the fluid vessels separately after use. Moreover, the components such as the puncture needle 417 and other communication means between the drug vessel 412 and the solvent vessel 411 are complicated and the total number of components is large.
The latter fluid vessel 510 has a drawback that the manufacturing process is complicated since the vessel is formed by sealing a plurality of films. Moreover, since the entire vessel is formed of flexible sheets, the vessel cannot stand by itself and takes a lot of space for storage.
The above-mentioned vessels are usually used for drip infusion, as shown in FIG. 34, by allowing a liquid delivery portion 560 at the bottom of the fluid vessel 550 to be connected to a separate drip infusion device 570 including an insertable puncture needle 561, a tube 562 connected to the puncture needle 561, and a needle portion 563 attached to a tip of the tube 562, a drip infusion barrel 564, and a flow adjusting device 565. Usually, by means of the flow adjusting device 565, the flow can be arbitrarily controlled by pressing the tube 562 housed in the adjusting device case with a roller 566 moving obliquely in the case.
Thus, the adjustment of the fluid can be carried out easily in these fluid vessels. However, in order to supply the adjusted fluid to a patient by drip infusion, it is necessary to separately prepare the above-mentioned drip infusion device 570, to take it out from a sterilized bag, and to insert the puncture needle 561 into the liquid delivery portion 560 at the bottom of the fluid vessel. This involves difficulties and also causes a sterility problem. Moreover, there is a fear that the hands are injured with the puncture needle 561 by mistake in operating the fluid vessel.
The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances and the purpose thereof is to provide a fluid vessel which simplifies the manufacturing process, is readily disposed of, facilitates mixing the drug with the solvent, and allows the drip infusion device to be mounted in a more sterile, safer, and easier manner.
The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances and the main purpose thereof is to provide a fluid vessel and a fluid apparatus which simplify the manufacturing process, are readily disposable, facilitate mixing the drug with the solvent, and are easy to store and handle in hospitals and other facilities, and further allow the drip infusion device to be mounted in a more sterile, safer, and easier manner.